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In this fifth entry in the Scudder series, Matt is hired by high-class hooker Kim Danniken. She is determined to leave the life, and, fearing her pimp Chance may try to stop her, she figures she may need Scudder's help. Things seem to be going well at first, but then somebody ends up dead, and Scudder realizes he has a much more complicated job on his hands.

The plot is interesting, with a few twists and turns, some memorable characters (“Danny Boy” Bell, the black albino dwarf tipster; Chance the elegantly dressed pimp, connoisseur of African masks; Donna Campion, half-hearted hooker and accomplished poet), and more than a few exciting and atmospheric scenes.

But the heart of the book—and the reason why I love it—lies elsewhere. It is filled with countless examples of two different kinds of small stories: the ones the newspapers tell its readers about sudden death in the city and the ones AA members tell each other about the ways alcohol has damaged their lives. You see, alcohol is trying to kill Matt Scudder, and maybe New York City is trying to kill him too, and it is through the contemplation of both kinds of stories that Matt comes closer to confronting his demons and getting on with what is left of his life.

This is not only the finest Scudder so far, but a landmark and milestone of the hard-boiled genre. It is of course a genre forever tied to the magic of particular cities, but this book is the only one I know that consciously uses the city's stories, the tales of the dead and the dying, as a sort of urban necromancy, a way of calling the hero forward, out of the depths of his city, squinting in pain toward the New York light.

Read information about the author

Lawrence Block has been writing crime, mystery, and suspense fiction for more than half a century. He has published in excess (oh, wretched excess!) of 100 books, and no end of short stories.

Born in Buffalo, N.Y., LB attended Antioch College, but left before completing his studies; school authorities advised him that they felt he’d be happier elsewhere, and he thought this was remarkably perceptive of them.

His earliest work, published pseudonymously in the late 1950s, was mostly in the field of midcentury erotica, an apprenticeship he shared with Donald E. Westlake and Robert Silverberg. The first time Lawrence Block’s name appeared in print was when his short story “You Can’t Lose” was published in the February 1958 issue of Manhunt. The first book published under his own name was Mona (1961); it was reissued several times over the years, once as Sweet Slow Death. In 2005 it became the first offering from Hard Case Crime, and bore for the first time LB’s original title, Grifter’s Game.

LB is best known for his series characters, including cop-turned-private investigator Matthew Scudder, gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, globe-trotting insomniac Evan Tanner, and introspective assassin Keller.

Because one name is never enough, LB has also published under pseudonyms including Jill Emerson, John Warren Wells, Lesley Evans, and Anne Campbell Clarke.

LB’s magazine appearances include American Heritage, Redbook, Playboy, Linn’s Stamp News, Cosmopolitan, GQ, and The New York Times. His monthly instructional column ran in Writer’s Digest for 14 years, and led to a string of books for writers, including the classics Telling Lies for Fun & Profit and The Liar’s Bible. He has also written episodic television (Tilt!) and the Wong Kar-wai film, My Blueberry Nights.

Several of LB’s books have been filmed. The latest, A Walk Among the Tombstones, stars Liam Neeson as Matthew Scudder and is scheduled for release in September, 2014.

LB is a Grand Master of Mystery Writers of America, and a past president of MWA and the Private Eye Writers of America. He has won the Edgar and Shamus awards four times each, and the Japanese Maltese Falcon award twice, as well as the Nero Wolfe and Philip Marlowe awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Private Eye Writers of America, and the Diamond Dagger for Life Achievement from the Crime Writers Association (UK). He’s also been honored with the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award from Mystery Ink magazine and the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement in the short story. In France, he has been proclaimed a Grand Maitre du Roman Noir and has twice been awarded the Societe 813 trophy. He has been a guest of honor at Bouchercon and at book fairs and mystery festivals in France, Germany, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan. As if that were not enough, he was also presented with the key to the city of Muncie, Indiana. (But as soon as he left, they changed the locks.)

LB and his wife Lynne are enthusiastic New Yorkers and relentless world travelers; the two are members of the Travelers Century Club, and have visited around 160 countries.

He is a modest and humble fellow, although you would never guess as much from this biographical note.